Playing Favorites

As 2010 comes to a close today, here's a list of my favorite things from this year:

Song: "Teenage Dream" by Katy Perry because I have to stay true to my teenage heart and the memories that coincide with this song, mostly occurring in the fall of my senior year.

Meal: Grilled Lemon Chicken served with roasted vegetables, with pasta as a starter at an Argentinian restaurant in Madrid, Spain on July 19. It was the perfect meal to satisfy me from a long day of touring the city in the scorching heat. My mouth is watering as I just think about it.

Book: The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, a book that was required summer reading for AP English, but I ended up devouring it as soon as I started it.

Moment: Watching my sister walk to the aisle and marry her now husband on October 16. I was such a mess when I started to walk down the aisle as a bridesmaid and I saw my sister's now husband standing at the end with a huge smile on his face. When I got to the pew and turned around to view my sister's entrance, she was absolutely beautiful.

Movie: "Valentine's Day", although some might say it was a total chick flick, I loved the cheesiness of the story. It is just such a feel good kind of movie.

Outfit: A black floral dress that I bought from Blanco in Madrid, paired with silver bracelets and my black moccasins for the first day of senior year. I will always remember my outfits that I wore for every first day of school, so this is my last one to remember. It was a warm day, but my school was chilly inside so the 3/4 length sleeves kept me warm enough, but I was still cool enough when I went outside.

Dessert: A peanut butter sauce and Oreo Flurry from Custard Time, where I work during the warmer months. Nothing says summer to me like having refreshing ice cream on hot days, even if it comes after hours of serving the endless lines. I may or may not have taken one home from a shift one too many times, but the fact that I can only have them for part of the year just adds to the deliciousness and the temptation.

Purchase: My purple Marc by Marc Jacobs side satchel, although my mom bought it for me, somewhat. We came to an agreement that if I would stay awake for my wisdom teeth extraction (being put to sleep was an extra $800), she would buy me the bag in compensation. I've worn that bag every day since I got the teeth out in April 20, and I have gotten so many complements on it.

Looking forward to most in 2011: Spring break in Dominican Republic with my best friends, graduation, college and new beginnings!

Auld Lang Syne

I can't believe that 2010 is coming to an end. It's surreal to think of all the things that have changed in my life in the past year, and how even more things will be changing in 2011! Here's a review of my 2010:

In the first few months of 2010, my sister got engaged! We spent our time throwing an engagement party, looking for her bridal dress, and attending to the various other wedding activities.

In April, I took a trip to Palm Springs, CA with my parents. We had wonderful weather, delicious food, and amazing shopping, the only things I need in a vacation!

The landscaping and flowers at the La Quinta Resort were absolutely breath taking, as they have been on every trip we have made to Palm Springs.

 I occupied my spare time walking the grounds, when I wasn't tanning or shopping. 

The Mexican band that played at "Las Casuelas Nuevas", one of our favorite places to go in Palm Springs.

July was quite the eventful time for me. My family and I went up to Harbor Springs to celebrate the 4th of July. The boys golfed, and while my sisters, mom, and I went to our favorite antique fair that is always the weekend of the 4th of July. Mid-month I traveled to Madrid, Spain. I was there when the Spain won the World Cup, which was absolutely crazy!

Post-firework jumping session with my sisters and their boys.

Early morning in Madrid

The Royal Palace of Madrid

My roommates and I overlooking Toledo, Spain

 In the court yard of the Royal Palace

The bull ring of Madrid

 Walking through the street of El Escorial, a city outside of Madrid

 The most memorable moment of the trip: taking a tractor ride through a bull farm

The view from our room, and the last sunrise I saw in Madrid

In September, I started my senior year. It was a very busy month, with my sister's bachelorette party and her wedding showers. My oldest sister got engaged, making that two weddings to be planned within a year for my family! I also went to the Paramore concert with my friends. Paramore is one of my favorite bands, so obviously I left the concert without a voice.

Paramore on stage at Meadowbrook Hall in Rochester Hills, MI

In October, I turned 18 and became a real adult! I also was accepted to Michigan State University. Two weeks later, my sister got married. Talk about a great month!

 My sister was such a beautiful bride!

The bridal party

In November, I started my blog, and let me tell you, I am so happy that I did! Mid-November I received my acceptance to Loyola University in Chicago. I also had time to celebrate with my family on Thanksgiving and for my mom's birthday.

My sisters, brother in-laws (one soon to be), mom and I

In December, I continued to blog. I made these two times, and I gobbled them up both times. I spent Christmas with my family, and enjoyed every minute of it.

I got my nails done for Christmas in this festive color, off of the Burlesque line from OPI.

This was my first Christmas with only one sibling at home, but it was still wonderful.

2010 was a year filled with new family additions, new experiences, and a lot of fun. It has most definitely been the most exciting year in my 18 years of living, although I have a feeling 2011 might top it off. I am graduating high school, moving off to college (the school yet to be determined), and having my other sister get married. My life is just taking off and I am so excited for it!

Just to top it all off

On Christmas Eve, my sister and I kept to our tradition in watching our all time favorite movie "Little Women." In the movie there is a scene where Jo is writing in a special hat. It was a bit rustic, and very eccentric, especially for the time. It got me to thinking, should I get a hat for blogging? Or perhaps I might find a special blogging headband or hair accessory, and channel my inner Blair Waldorf. Accessories can change the whole outlook of an outfit, and also they can change your mood. Would that give me special inspiration? If I were to get one, here are some that I would love:

1. Wool Cloche Hat with Ribbon, Forever 21
2. Clip Us Up, Scottie, Modcloth
3. Gathered Bow Headband, Forever 21
4. Striped Slouchy Hat, Aerie
5. Tasha 'Birdcage Feather Flower' Headband, Nordstrom
6. Grosgrain Border Straw Fedora, Nordstrom
7. Hello Goodbye Ski Hat, Kate Spade
8. Sequin Fabric Headband, Topshop
9. Forest Andean Knitted Trapper Hat, Topshop

Sometimes is never quite enough

I recently saw the movie "Black Swan" and I fell in love with the wardrobe! I loved how Nina was always perfectly dressed in light colored ballet clothes, and Lily effortlessly throws together outfits in dark hues. The contrast between light and dark in the movie is beautiful. Oh, and the dress that Nina wears to the party with the ballet company is absolutely flawless! The storyline of the movie is kind of mind blowing, with Nina's struggle to find perfection and her loss of reality. The entire time I was watching I wanted to take ballet, but seeing as my dance career lasted about two years, I'm thinking I wouldn't be too successful. Perhaps I can just dress the part, channeling my inner black and white swans.

1. Giddy in Pink Top, Modcloth
2. Beaded Braids Headband, Forever 21
3. Spiced Vanilla Coat, Modcloth
4. Leg Warmers, Dance Wear Solutions
5. Flash, Kate Spade
6. Edie Earrings, Modcloth
7. Lips in Rio Rio, Topshop
8. Faux Sheepskin Biker Jacket, Topshop
9. Classic Q Little Ukita, Marc by Marc Jacobs
10. Erica Dress by Motel, Topshop
11. Trouve 'Focus' Bootie, Nordstrom
12. Teardrop Beaded Earrings, Forever21

Love was all around

Merry Christmas to all! At Christmas mass last night, the priest, Father Dennis, gave his sermon on World War I, and how on Christmas Eve in 1914, Scottish, German and French soldiers stopped fighting for the night in order to celebrate Christmas together. Their love that they felt among each other forever bonded them. He said that everyone should take this story into their own lives, and show love to each and every person, no matter their differences. My family decided we are going to take this message to heart, especially to people we might not have been showing it to in the past. As Father Dennis said, love is the one thing that connects the world.

The Christmas tree post Santa's visit

Although this morning was a little different because two oldest sisters didn't sleep at home for the first time on Christmas, my parents and my other sister had a wonderful morning together. We took our time unwrapping gifts from Santa, and then we had a delicious egg casserole and coffee cake for brunch. It was a perfectly relaxed morning filled with love.

The gift that I received that I am most excited about would definitely be these combat boots, which are from Nordstrom. I can't wait to pair them with a chunky sweater and some leggings! We saved the sibling gifts to be opened for when my other sisters get here, so I am anxiously waiting for them to open their gifts. I carefully picked out each of the gifts for my sisters, and I can't wait to see the look on their faces when they open them.

My mom's side of the family is coming over tonight, and my sister and I obviously were excited her to set up the festive tables. We used lots of candles, sparkles, and a touch of wintry cheer. I am excited to spend time with my sisters, their boys, and the rest of my extended family. Love will be surrounding me this Christmas, I hope it surrounds you as well.

The ties that never end will bring us home again

My lack of blogging recently has been due to an obsessive amount of Christmas cheer and exhaustion due to consuming an unhealthy amount of Christmas treats. I've been running around the past few days getting the last of my shopping done, along with doing ALL of my mom's wrapping. Although it wasn't the most fun I've ever had, it was nice to be able to spend some time hanging out with my sister. The remainder of my time these past few days has been filled with the following five:

1. I made another variation of these brownie bites for a Christmas party with my friends on Monday, except this time I added crushed up peppermint on top to make them festive. I had about ten because I have zero will power. My gym trip the following day definitely was needed.

2. I went out to dinner with some friend from work, and I couldn't help but love the festive decorations that I saw on my way! I'm such a sucker for garland and lights. Walking through my downtown just makes feels so homey, and I love that it feels like that for me.

3. I've finally caught up on General Hospital and I am absolutely LOVING it at the moment. I went on a song downloading spree yesterday of songs featured on the show. I bought "Eyes of Grace" by Enation, which was featured a few weeks ago on the show. I also bought "Home Again" by Deana Jay, which is the love song for Sonny and Brenda. I've been listening to them nonstop ever since. The Christmas cheer that is currently on the show is so wonderful, along with the love stories that are happening as well. Yesterday while watching it my mom and I both cried! Extremely sad that General Hospital makes us cry, but it can't be helped.

4. My sister's best friend gave me this cookbook for Christmas in hopes to give me inspiration for blogging (How nice is she?). The book has 100 recipes that are centered around one simple cake recipe. I cannot wait to make every recipe in here!

 One perfectly grilled cheese burger

 Onion rings and french fries, yum!

Clean "plate" club!

5. I went to my favorite burger place, Miller's Bar, today for lunch. They don't have plates or silverware, which only adds to the allure of the place. They have the absolute best burgers I've ever had in my life. Add in some delicious onion rings and french fries to complete the meal, and you will for sure be an extremely full person. I definitely scarfed mine down, whoops.

Less than two days until Christmas!

How beautiful do I have to be?

It's Christmas break!! I have never been so happy to have school off. On Thursday afternoon I received the news that my decision from University of Michigan has been deferred, and now I won't know until April. Let's just say I wasn't a happy camper when I got that email. I realized that what is meant to happen will happen, I'm a strong believer in that, but it's still hard to have things happen the way I wasn't planning.

I started my break off on Friday by attending a Mother-Daughter cookie swap with my friends. My mom and I made shortbread cookies and then dipped them in chocolate and decorated them with red and green sprinkles. We made them Thursday night, so I wasn't really in the photo-documenting mood (sorry!). At the exchange we got tons of delicious goodies that I have been consuming an unhealthy amount of this weekend. It was fun to spend time with my friends along with our wonderful mothers! After that party I headed over to my sister's house for her Christmas party. Her house looked adorable with her Christmas decorations, and her little kitten made it look even cuter! I loved being able to spend time with my sisters and their boys. We got our dance on to some wonderful Glee Christmas music, along with some other favorites of ours.

A throwback to my trip to Madrid, the red and green look a little festive.

Last night I attended another Christmas party, but this time it was with the girls that I went to Spain with over the summer. We had a white-elephant gift exchange, I got a gift certificate for a manicure which I can't wait to use! My nails are in desperate need of some love. It was so nice to spend time with the group again, we had lots of fun reminiscing of the funny moments, along with the semi-tragic moments as well.

The rest of my free time this weekend has been consumed by laying around and doing nothing, and it has felt absolutely wonderful. I went on a song downloading spree, eeek! I'm in a chill music kind of mood lately, and my two favorite new additions are "I'm Yours" by Ron Pope and "Beautifully" by Jay Brannan. I also heard "Yule Shoot Your Eye Out"  by Fall Out Boy on a Christmas station the other day, and I just find it so delightfully festive, but not too jolly that I just love it. Leave it to Fall Out Boy to give me a new Christmas favorite.

Sweet Thing

Today I learned four life lessons, none of which will really enhance my quality of life, but all of which made me evaluate my day.

 Butter, sugar and vanilla... yum!

Combining the ingredients, aka making it more delicious

 Perfectly festive

 Ready to bake, or ready to eat

Done!

One. I learned that I have absolutely no will power when it comes to cookie dough. I made M&M cookies for the teachers at school for a National Honor Society event, but in doing so I just about ate half of the dough. It was just so good, I couldn't resist. Whoops...

 One delightful looking pomegranate

 Cut open

 Taking the seeds out. Be warned, they will fly in a thousand directions around your kitchen.

One bowl full of seeds, perfect to put in my morning oatmeal tomorrow!

Two. Pomegranates are the most annoying food ever. I bought one the other day because I love to eat them, but this was my first time manually getting the seeds out. I might have gotten about a third of the seeds on my floor, but I was still able to get fill my bowl with seeds. I can't wait to have them tomorrow morning!

Three. My Van Morrison station on Pandora is about the greatest station ever. I listened to it during my baking and pomegranate session today, and it definitely made the time pass by extra fast. I had a nice mixture of Jack Johnson, Ray Charles and Tracy Chapman, to name a few.

Four. In a choice between homework and my Blackberry, the latter will always, always win. Although I do love reading for AP English a lot, there are always tons of more interesting things occurring on my Blackberry. It's a sad fact, but it's very true.

Let it Snow

This morning at 6 am when my alarm went off I received the greatest news ever; today was a snow day! Apparently I was so happy that I screamed, or so my parents say, but my happiness masked my memory of that. I promptly went back to sleep and slept in my warm cozy bed until ten, making me even happier. There is nothing better than being able to stay in bed for extra time on cold winter mornings. Thankfully, I only need to get out of bed before sunrise four more times in 2010! With my new found shortened week, this weekend is going to be here before I know it, and I need tons of outfits for my holiday parties. I used my day off to get some holiday shopping done, and also to plan ahead some of my outfits. My holiday outfits need to have a little bit of sparkle, a little bit of red or green, and lots of cheer. Here are some holiday inspiring favorites of mine, just add a bit of snow to complete the look:

1. Swan Lake Scottie, Kate Spade
2. Te Amo Dress, Modcloth
3. Red Western Style Roll Sleeve Check Shirt, Topshop
4. Dangling Beads Earrings, Forever 21
5. It's In the Stars Skirt, Modcloth
6. Ignite Shoes, Betsey Johnson
7. Tasha Braided Headband, Nordstrom

I probably should mention the seven that I like

The weekend flew by me! I purchased all of my Christmas gifts for my sisters, along with the gift for my Secret Santa. It feels good to have that checked off of my long list of things to do before the 25th. Although it seemed short, here are seven things that I loved about this weekend:

1. Going shopping in Ann Arbor on Friday, and also going to the Big Chill in Ann Arbor yesterday. Everything looked so festive, from the decorations in the restaurant I went to, to the lit up trees. How I love that city!

2. I saw these yesterday, and of course I couldn't pass them up for only $1.50! I thought of them as a nice Christmas present to myself, and I didn't even break the bank on them. They will be a good addition to a holiday outfit that needs a little extra something.

3. This adorable mug that I had my morning coffee out of this weekend, a nice change from my travel mug that I bring to school. Drinking from this mug just feels so cozy and festive, obviously something that I would love.

4. We put our Christmas tree up in our family room, decorations and lights are soon to come. I love the fresh scent of pine that is now filling my house, although my allergies aren't. It's time for me to say hello to some Claritin for the remainder of the year.

5. My new headband that I wrote about here. I've been wearing it non-stop ever since I bought it on Friday.

6. Waking up and seeing this out my front door. I was particularly happy that I was able to sleep in and not have to go to school in this weather, along with the fact that it looks SO festive out! It has been the perfect day to stay home and get some homework done.

7. I only have five more days (potentially less if we get a snow day tomorrow) to go to school in 2010.

It's time for us to have a toast

The Big Chill at the Big House



What a wonderful day to live in the mitten! I went to the University of Michigan vs. Michigan State University hockey game with my dad, and it was so much fun! It was my first time in Michigan Stadium, now I can't wait to go back next fall for football games. The energy in the stadium was insane, although I was surrounded by tons of students who were a little bit crazy. I recently found out that I won't be getting my decision from Michigan until December 23. Those Wolverines know how to give me the greatest Christmas ever, or potentially ruin it. Although I was a bit chilly at the game, I stayed warm in a new knit headband that I bought yesterday. It came in tons of colors, and of course I bought the purple one. When I came home wearing it though, my mom informed me in disbelief that she was going to be giving me that same headband for Christmas. Like mother like daughter, right? It ended up getting a little bit too chilly for my dad and I, so we left the game a little early, but University of Michigan won the game 5-0. GO BLUE

Oh, and my new favorite song for the week is "Runaway" by Kanye West, probably because it allows me to sing out my feelings to everything, but it is wonderful.

You shine brighter than anyone

Essie "No Boundaries" and Chanel "Dazzling"

Last night during a major fit of senioritis I decided I needed to add a little Christmas cheer to myself, so I painted my nails a wonderful cranberry color. I love to mix polishes, I love trying new combinations, even if they don't always turn out as I hope. That's what nail polish remover is for right? I was pleased with my choices last night because it feels holiday-esque, yet it doesn't scream "CHRISTMAS!" I painted the "Dazzling" color on first, and then I topped it off with "No Boundaries."

Okay, so maybe I need a little help at the actual manicure part of painting my nails, but from far away they look good, or at least that's what I like to tell myself. Maybe I will just paint my nails every time I'm feeling a bout of seniorities, but then again, that is just about every night. At least I could have some fun nails for dull winter days!